Met forecasts below normal rains during March

The low rainfall is feared to aggravate the prevailing moderate drought in Southwest Balochistan, as the Met Office has warned about below normal rains for lower parts of the country during March. It also alerted that the existing mild drought may also turn into moderate in Tharparkar region. It said that the average temperature in the country is likely to remain slightly above normal during the month.
The Office also forecast about four short rainy spells for the upper parts of the country that is expected to produce precipitation along with thunderstorm, gusty winds and high risk of hailstorm. March precipitation is unlikely to scale up water stocks in major reservoirs, as it again warned about the stress conditions to continue. Lower half of the country is likely to receive a below normal to normal rainfall during the month.
Upper parts of the country including upper Punjab, FATA, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan and Kashmir are expected to receive slightly above normal precipitation. Snowfall is also expected over the hills of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan and Kashmir. "The North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) and ENSO are likely to be in neutral phase during March-April 2018 (Spring Season) and its effect on the weather pattern is not pronounced," the Met Office said.